


like the stars in the sky we shine

by CerinityKS



Category: The Martian (2015), The Martian - All Media Types, The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-05
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-04-24 21:36:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4936213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CerinityKS/pseuds/CerinityKS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris is in love with two people. Thankfully, one of them manages to come up with a (fairly simple) solution to their problem. </p><p>After all, if two was better than one, three must be exceptional.</p>
            </blockquote>





	like the stars in the sky we shine

**Author's Note:**

> I’ll be honest, I’ve been wanting to write this pairing for a while, and after seeing the movie I decided to finally do it. I know this might not be a popular pairing, but you know what? Fuck it, I wanted to write it so I did. 
> 
> I’ll probably still write more beckwatney than anything in the future, but I’ll probably write some more for these 3 too, and I hope you guys enjoy x

Chris was in love with Beth.

He knew that, she knew that, pretty much anyone who interacted with both of them at the same time knew that. It was one of those open secret kinda deals – everyone knew, but no one said anything. Mostly because everyone knew they were too professional to do anything about it (because Beth obviously loved Chris back). 

So everyone was half right. Chris and Beth were in love. But they weren’t too professional to do anything about it. 

They were just exceptionally good at hiding their relationship. 

Chris, unfortunately, hid another secret. One that he thought no one knew, not even Beth. 

“You’re in love with Mark?” Beth stared at him with wide, slightly hurt eyes. 

Scratch that – no one _but_ Beth knew. 

“Beth-” Chris started, but Beth held up a hand. 

“Don’t lie to me Chris,” she warned. 

Chris swallowed and shook his head. “I, I won’t,” his voice shook, “just, just let me explain?” 

He had no clue how she found out, but it was honestly a worst case scenario. 

“Yes,” he whispered, “I’m in love with Mark,” and that was never something that he had honestly ever said out loud before. Chris had accepted he was bisexual years ago, but he’d never felt for another man like he did for Mark. Hell, the only other person he’d ever loved as much as he loved Mark was _Beth_ , and it terrified him. 

Beth inhaled, eyes suspiciously wet, but she stayed silent and let Chris continue. 

“I’ve loved Mark as long as I’ve loved you, loving you was never a lie,” he swore, silently begging her to believe him. “I love you Beth, and me loving Mark will never change that. I, Mark never showed any interest in guys though, so I never saw a future with him. But you,” he swallowed. 

“Beth, I would have happily kept my feelings for both you and Mark to myself. I would have never said anything to _either_ of you, would have buried these feelings and moved on. But then you showed interest, you _loved_ me back,” he pleaded. 

Beth nodded and looked away. The air was tense between them, and Chris could feel his heart thudding wildly in his chest. 

“I need some time to think,” Beth finally spoke, and Chris nearly wept. It wasn’t acceptance, but it also wasn’t _rejection_. 

“Anything,” he swore. Beth nodded, looked at him one more time, and then walked out of Chris’s apartment. Chris stared after her and hoped, desperately, that everything hadn’t just gone to shit. 

-

Beth came back two days later, expression intent, and Chris let her into his apartment right away. 

“I have some questions for you,” she started. 

“Anything, I meant it.” 

Beth nodded, and Chris wished he could read the expression on her face. 

“You love Mark,” she stated. No questions. 

“And you love me,” she continued, before Chris could respond. 

Chris nodded, not quite sure where she was going with this. Beth was silent for a moment, like she was gathering her thoughts. 

“If you could,” she started slowly. She paused, conflict easily read on her face, before she continued, “If you could, would you want both of us at the same time?” 

Chris was sure he’d stopped breathing. He must be dead, because there was no way Beth was suggesting what he thought she was. 

“You mean, um, no, no, what do you mean?” 

Beth licked her lips and raised her eyes to his. “I mean,” she breathed, “if you could be in a relationship with both of us, would you be?” 

He was definitely dead. 

Being able to be with both of them would be… amazing; a dream come true. But there was no way that would work. 

“I, but you?” 

Beth smiled a bit, and Chris’s heart ached at being able to see that smile. 

“No Chris, the three of us. All together. A, a triad, I think it’s called?” 

Chris swallowed. Hard. 

“But, you don’t like Mark like that,” he pointed out, heart racing. 

Beth bit her lip and shrugged. “I, I spent most of yesterday furious with you,” she admitted, and Chris winced. 

“I couldn’t believe that you’d keep something like this, something so _huge_ from me. But then I got to thinking. I don’t want to leave you Chris, not over something like this,” she whispered, “I love you too much. I want to make this work, so I started to think. I know your feelings for Mark aren’t going away, not if you love him like you do me,” she smiled again, and Chris reached out, helpless. 

Beth took his hand and squeezed it, then held on. 

“And one of my old college roommates was in a triad, and they hung out in our dorm room all the time. I asked her about it once, what it was like, and she said it was like any other relationship, except there were 3 people instead of 2, and sometimes that caused problems, but as long as they stayed honest with each other, it worked. 

“So I started to think,” Beth shrugged, and Chris hung on to her every word, “well, how do I feel about Mark? Could I see myself loving him? I mean, there had to be a reason you loved him,” she pointed out, “and I haven’t really spent much time with him, but maybe, maybe if I did, if I saw what you saw, it would work.” 

She trailed off them and Chris couldn’t love her any more than he possibly did right then. 

“You, you really want to try this?” he asked. 

Beth was silent for a moment before slowly, she nodded. 

“Yeah, I wanna try this.” 

Chris breathed out slowly, heart still racing. 

“We still don’t know if Mark even likes guys,” he pointed out. Beth just smirked at that. 

“Oh Chris, trust me, he likes guys,” and the way she said that made Chris realize she _knew_ something. 

“How-?” he started, but she cut him off. 

“Nope, not telling!” she laughed. Chris would have pushed it, but she pulled him closer and Chris instinctively wrapped her in his arms. 

“So, we’re agreed?” she breathed. 

Chris brushed a kiss to her jaw and nodded. 

“Good,” she exhaled, “so now all we need to do is seduce him. How hard could that be?” 

-

Hard, was the answer. Seducing Mark Watney was very hard. 

Beth was very frustrated. 

After their decision (and a very vigorous round or two of make-up sex; they really needed to fight more often, the make-up sex was _fantastic_ ) Beth immediately started to spend more time with Mark. She wanted to see what Chris saw when he looked at Mark. 

And she could see it, after spending more time with him. Mark was funny, in a dry, sometimes self-deprecating way. He was a sarcastic little shit too, but it was rarely ever mean spirited, and Beth had never laughed as much as she had when she was with him. 

And Mark’s smile, when he didn’t hold back and was just so genuinely _happy_ , it was breathtaking. The first time Beth saw it she had to stop herself from gaping like an idiot; how had she never seen him smile like that before? 

When she started really paying attention she could also admit that Mark was attractive, very much so, and Mark was fit too. All astronauts had to be, but the way Mark’s t-shirts stretched over his arms made Beth have _thoughts_. 

Conclusion was yeah, Beth could see this potentially working. 

If only they could get Mark to take a _hint_. 

-

Chris went first, because while Beth was getting closer to Mark, Chris was still closer. 

So Chris took Mark drinking. They were getting closer to the day the Ares 3 would launch and there was an undercurrent of excitement beneath all the crew’s interactions. It wasn’t unusual for them to go drinking together, especially the closer the launch got, so Chris knew Mark would think nothing of it when Chris suggested the two of them go for drinks. 

Chris was two drinks in and feeling pleasantly buzzed, and Mark was grinning stupidly in a way that Chris knew meant he was just this side of sober. 

“Man, you ever gonna say somethin’ to Beth?” Mark asked, head tipped on his shoulder as he gazed at Chris. 

Chris shrugged and subtly moved a bit closer to Mark. “How do you know I haven’t already?” he took another sip of his drink and smirked. 

Mark eyed him, like he was trying to decide if Chris was serious or not. Slowly, Mark’s eyes widened as he realized Chris was serious. 

“Dude,” he spluttered. Chris laughed, and Mark grinned brightly at him. 

“Chris! What, why, when did this happen? Why didn’t you _tell_ me man?” Mark slapped his shoulder and Chris used the movement as an excuse to slump against Mark and shrug. 

“You know NASA,” he murmured. Mark nodded, serious. 

“I won’t say a thing,” he swore. 

“Man, I know you won’t,” Chris laughed, and swallowed down the last dregs of his third drink. He hadn’t had much to eat today so his vision swam a bit as he leant his head on Mark’s shoulder. 

“We appreciate that,” he breathed, and then he turned so that he was looking up at Mark from beneath his lashes, something a past girlfriend had told him was unfairly sexy. 

Mark visibly swallowed, eyes flicking from Chris to his drink. 

“Yeah, well, I like you guys, I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble,” Mark laughed. 

“We really like you too Mark,” Chris whispered, and he shifted closer. He nudged at Mark’s jaw with his nose and gripped the collar of Mark’s shirt with one hand. 

“Chris, buddy, I think you’re a bit drunk,” Mark breathed. 

“‘M not,” he replied. He pressed his lips to Mark’s pulse and felt it racing wildly. Chris knew his own heart was pumping, and for the first time since Beth suggested it be felt that Mark would actually be receptive. 

“Chris,” Mark moved closer, and Chris thought for a wild moment that Mark was about to kiss him, but instead Mark wrapped an arm around him and started to pull them from the booth they’d claimed at their favorite bar. 

“You are definitely drunk, and I doubt Beth would forgive me if I let you hit on anyone in sight,” Mark laughed, and it was like the tension that had been building between them was gone. 

Chris took in the tense lines of Mark’s body and the way he was so clearly uncomfortable and decided he’d moved _way_ too fast, and _way_ too subtly. 

“Maybe jus’ a little,” he agreed, and played up the slur in his voice. Mark sighed and started to drag him from the bar, rambling thoughtlessly about something he’d read earlier about alcohol and drunkness. 

‘Hopefully Beth has better luck.’ 

-

Beth took Mark to one of the local botanical gardens for her attempt. She’d never been, so she was truthful about that, and honesty who better to go with than a botanist she’d reasoned to him. 

“I don’t really know that much about flowers,” Mark explained as they walked through. 

Beth shrugged and linked her arm with his. Mark tensed subtly before he relaxed, and Beth sighed in relief. 

“Still, who better to appreciate than a botanist? Chris would be bored in minutes, Martinez would just not care, Vogel would talk about his family the whole time, and Melissa would be as bored as Chris. I figured you’d at least enjoy seeing it with me,” she pointed out. 

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Mark laughed and smiled down at her. Beth smiled brightly back and Mark blushed before he looked away. 

Beth smiled to herself and looked forward. Mark pointed out flowers he knew and offered up little facts he knew about the soil, or how hard a certain flower was to grow, or why certain flowers wouldn’t grow in their climate. 

Beth paid attention and asked questions, letting Mark know she was listening, and he gave her this pleased, surprised little smile every time. Beth sighed and leant her head on his shoulder as they made their way to the last ‘exhibit’ as it were. 

“Thank you again for coming with me Mark,” she said, hugging his arm. 

“I was happy to,” he shrugged. 

“I know, but still, thank you. I realized we didn’t really hang out much before, and I’m glad we finally are,” she nudged him and laughed. 

“As long as Chris doesn’t mind,” Mark joked back. 

“Trust me, Chris doesn’t mind,” Beth promised. “If anything, he’d be right here with us if it wasn’t something so _boring_ ,” she dropped her voice a bit in a poor imitation of Chris’s. 

“Really?” Mark grinned, “It’s great, you know, that Chris isn’t a jealous boyfriend.” 

“Mark,” Beth halted them and Mark blinked at her in confusion. “Mark, I promise, Chris has no issues with me being alone with you. If anything, he’s jealous because he doesn’t get to be _with_ us,” she stressed. 

Mark furrowed his brow, clearly confused, and Beth held her breath, hoping that Mark maybe got it. Then Mark smiled, opened his mouth, and, “Is the honeymoon phase over already? That’s too bad, I hear the sex declines, and you’re both so youn- ow! Stop it!” Mark laughed and dodged as Beth smacked at him with her hand. 

“Maybe you should find out yourself!” she shot back as she got a good smack in on his ass. Mark jumped and winked back at her. 

“But Beth, what would we tell Chris?” 

And Beth realized that she wouldn’t be getting through to him, so she dropped it and just grinned back. 

“Come on, we still have some more flowers to look at.” 

-

Both Chris and Beth realized being subtle wouldn’t work on Mark. Either Mark just wasn’t getting it, or worse, he was and was trying to let them down gently. 

So they decided to be a bit more direct in their next attempt, though really, Chris wasn’t sure any of their attempts were ‘real’ attempts by any stretch of the imagine. It was how they worked though. 

The only difference from the first two attempts was that they decided to do it together this time. It was their last night on Earth, and the six of them went out drinking. None of them got drunk, because going into space with a hangover would suck. 

Somehow, Chris managed to convince Mark to come back to his apartment that night with him and Beth. Mark had been over before, but never with just Chris and Beth; always with the rest of the crew. 

“I, personally, would like to get the stench of alcohol and smoke from my skin,” Beth commented as soon as the door was shut behind them. 

“Go ahead and use my shower, you still have some clothes here I think,” Chris replied. 

“Join me?” Beth smirked over her shoulder as she sauntered her way towards Chris’s bathroom. Chris stared after her with hungry eyes and then turned a flirtatious smile on Mark. 

“Join us?” 

Mark’s eyes widened and Beth stopped in the doorway to the bathroom. 

“Yeah Mark, join us?” 

“I, you, what?” 

“It’s a yes or no question,” Chris laughed. 

“You guys, uh, want me to join you? You do this often?” Mark swallowed. 

“Not at all,” Beth replied, and both of them looked at Mark pointedly. 

Mark looked between them a moment longer before he slowly broke into laughter. 

“V-very funny guys, haha, jokes over. Just, keep it down, okay?” 

And then Mark swallowed, jerked once, like he was stopping himself from walking towards Beth, and then he about faced and walked towards Chris’s couch. 

Beth and Chris exchanged frustrated glances, but they both silently agreed that they wouldn’t push it. Not yet. Chris and Beth had both noticed, at this point, that Mark was clearly into them. It was little things Mark did when he interacted with them, but they all built up into a bigger picture that told them the truth. 

For some reason though, Mark wasn’t taking them seriously, or he was but was rejecting them for some reason they couldn’t figure out. 

So they took a shower together, only indulging in each other a little, and then joined Mark on the couch to watch some late night TV before they went to bed. 

-

They were on the Hermes when they made another move. Beth and Chris had both agreed to stop for the time, not wanting to risk anything in such close quarters, but when the opportunity came they decided to take a chance. 

Mark did something, no one was really sure _how_ he’d done it, but he had, and now his and Martinez’s rooms were unusable for a few days until they were cleaned out properly. Chris immediately offered to bunk with Mark, and Vogel took Martinez into his room. 

Mark was the only one who knew Chris and Beth slept together whenever they could, which wasn’t often, but enough. Obviously knowing that, Mark figured that Chris would stay with Beth and he’d take Chris’s bed that night. So when he got there, ready to sleep, he was surprised to see Beth _and_ Chris there. 

“Oh, am I, um, taking Beth’s room tonight then?” he hesitated in the doorway. 

Beth rolled her eyes and gestured for him to come closer. 

“No, no, Chris and I were gonna stay together tonight anyway, and we figured there was no reason to change that when you’re here. You can join us!” she said brightly, like it was the best idea ever, and Chris nodded. 

“The more the merrier and all that right?” 

Mark glanced between them, smile nervous. “Are, are you serious?” 

“Yes Mark, we want you to sleep with us,” Beth replied, fully aware of the double entendre in her words. Mark blushed but stepped into the room. 

“Um, if you’re sure,” he was clearly nervous, but Beth was determined. They’d make him understand this time. 

Mark moved forward and Beth stood up to meet him. Mark slowed, but Beth reached forward and dragged him to her. Mark embraced her automatically and Beth pulled his head down. 

“Mark, sleep with us,” she repeated. Mark’s hands flexed on her hips and he shot a nervous look to Chris, who was lounging on the bed and watching. 

“Beth-” he started, but Beth but him off with a kiss. 

Mark made a strangled noise, shocked, but Beth didn’t let him pull back. Instead she dragged him closer, and Mark resisted for only a moment before he gave in. He made a noise, low in his throat, and then kissed _back_ with a vigor that surprised and delighted Beth. 

She moaned and backed up towards the bed and Chris, and a moment later a new pair of hands joined them as Mark shuddered when Chris did something that Beth couldn’t see or feel. 

“Mark, say you’ll join us?” Chris breathed, lips playing across Mark’s jawline. 

And Mark was helpless to resist them. 

-

Mark was dead. 

Mark was dead and Beth and Chris had to live on without him. 

They’d had a few weeks together, and they were good. _So_ good. After that first night it didn’t take them long to convince Mark that they were serious, that they _wanted_ him, for longer than just a night. 

It had been going so _well_. Mark was slow to open up, but when he did it was beautiful. It was the small things that seemed to surprise Mark the most. Like he couldn’t believe they really wanted him for more than just sex. 

Every hug, every kiss, every intimate (non-sexual) touch was met with shy disbelief and joy. Not to mention whenever Mark let go during sex, the way he responded to Chris and Beth’s touch, the noises he made (even muffled) were enticing. 

And now Mark was dead, and Chris never had the chance to say I love you. He wasn’t sure if Beth loved Mark, if she’d ever gotten to that point, and neither of them knew how Mark felt. But now they’d never have the chance to figure this out together. 

Beth and Chris laid pressed together on his bed two weeks after Mars, and Chris was still having trouble thinking about Mark and _not_ crying. Beth was stronger, but even she had cried a few times. 

“I did love him,” Beth admitted, quietly, and Chris felt his heart break again. 

“When?” he breathed. 

“The Botanical gardens,” she admitted. “I just, he was in his element, and I was watching him, and I just _got_ it. I couldn’t help it,” she laughed wetly. 

“It’s hard not to love Mark,” she whispered. 

“Yeah.” 

They didn’t say anything else the rest of the night. 

-

Getting Mark back was amazing. 

Beth still couldn’t believe it, even as she sat next to Mark’s sleeping form. 

“He still asleep?” Chris entered the room and took a glance at the sleeping Mark. 

“Yeah, for the past few hours,” Beth admitted. She brushed Mark’s bangs back off his face and smiled sadly at how _cold_ he felt. 

“He deserves his rest,” Chris admitted. 

“He does.” 

“N’t sleepi’ ‘nymore,” Mark slurred, and Beth jumped. 

“Mark!” 

Chris hurried over and Mark grinned sleepily up at him, “Hey handsome,” he whispered. 

“Hey,” Chris smiled. 

“What am I, chopped liver?” Beth laughed. 

“You’re gorgeous,” Mark breathed, and Beth unexpectedly blushed. 

“Wish I could say the same,” she replied. 

“Yeah, well, two years on Mars, what can you do?” Mark shrugged. 

“We missed you,” Chris didn’t bother to touch on what Mark said, knowing they’d have more than enough time to talk properly later, when Mark wasn’t so medicated. 

“You had each other,” Mark seemed confused. 

“But we didn’t have _you_ ,” Beth pointed out. 

Mark looked baffled. 

“But,” 

“But nothing,” Chris stated, “Mark, why do you think we invited you into our relationship?” 

Mark said nothing, and Beth took his hand in hers. 

“Mark, I, _we_ love you,” she breathed. “We didn’t get a chance to tell you before, but we do. We, we were _devastated_ when we thought you were dead,” she explained. 

Mark looked surprised. “You, you guys love me? But, you have each other.” 

“But we want you _too_ ,” Chris pointed out gently. 

Mark went silent, and Beth and Chris exchanged glances. It had taken them some time and lots of talks for both of them to be completely comfortable with the thought of bringing Mark into their relationship, even after they’d both decided to do so. It was only fair that Mark get some time to process it himself. 

“We can leave you alone if you’d li-” 

“No!” Mark panicked. Beth, who had been getting up, immediately sat back down and took his hand in hers again. Chris stopped what he was doing and sat down on Mark’s other side. 

“Okay, we won’t leave Mark,” Chris soothed. 

Mark swallowed and looked between the two of them uncertainly. “You both really-?” 

“Yes,” they said together. 

Mark nodded and squeezed Beth’s hand. 

“Okay,” he said. 

“Okay?” Chris asked. 

“Okay,” he repeated. 

Then he smiled, and both Beth and Chris knew it would be alright. 

-

**4 years later**

“-and that’s it for today! Review what we went over and I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Mark smiled at his class as they started to pack up and leave. 

A few stayed behind to ask him questions, which Mark had expected. He still took care of them as quickly as possible, anxious to leave. 

The Ares 5 mission had left the day before and Mark had barely been able to believe it had been so long. Almost 5 years since he’d been brought back to Earth. 

He, Chris, and Beth had had their differences. It wasn’t easy, having three people in a relationship, but they made it work. One of the things Beth had always stressed was open communication, that they be truthful with each other. It was hard, but it did help. 

It had been harder on Mark when Beth had announced she was pregnant last year. He’d figured Beth and Chris wouldn’t need or want him anymore, not with a baby on the way. 

Beth had been quick to fix that line of thinking; she’d made it clear that her child would have _two_ fathers or none at all. Beth wouldn’t raise him or her without both of them there to support her – the child belonged to all three of them, not just two of them. 

The hospital wasn’t far away, just twenty minutes, so it didn’t take long for Mark to drive there after class. He had Beth’s room number memorized from yesterday when the child had been born, so he headed straight there. 

The sight that met him made him smile, and he leant against the doorjamb. 

“She’s beautiful,” he whispered. Chris and Beth both looked up, the beautiful baby girl Beth had birthed cradled in Chris’s arms. 

“Me or the baby?” Beth laughed. 

“Both of you,” he replied. 

He stepped into the room and Chris stood up to hand their daughter over. Mark cradled her carefully in his arms and couldn’t believe that the beautiful baby girl he was holding was his daughter. That he’d get a chance to raise her alongside Chris and Beth. 

None of them knew which of them had fathered her, and they wanted to keep it that way. It honestly wasn’t important to them. They’d flipped a coin to see who would be put down as the father on the birth certificate, so it was only through that process that Chris was listed as the father. 

“Hey baby girl,” Mark whispered, and he pressed a light kiss to her forehead, “I’m your papa.” 

Chris wrapped his arm around Mark’s waist and pressed a kiss to Mark’s temple. 

“I love you,” Mark whispered, not just talking to their daughter, but he knew no matter what happened in the future, he’d always be there for her. For them. 

“Love you too,” Chris whispered, and Beth echoed him a moment later. Mark looked up and smiled, and they smiled back at him. 

They were a family, and Mark couldn’t be happier.

**Author's Note:**

> find [this](http://rinnielove.tumblr.com/post/130524043841/like-the-stars-in-the-sky-we-shine) and [me](http://rinnielove.tumblr.com/) on tumblr x


End file.
